Families interned in WW2 China
Witness History23 Feb 2023

Families interned in WW2 China

Despite facing malnutrition, starvation and disease, Christopher John Huckstep's father set up a school in the Japanese internment camp where his family was sent in 1943.

Herbert Huckstep ensured the 350 children of Lunghwa Civilian Assembly Centre were taught a wide range of subjects using brown paper bags to write on. The school was called Lunghwa Academy and it had its own badge, motto and certificates. A syllabus was followed, exams were taken and there were even evening classes for adults.

The Japanese set up more than 20 internment camps in China and Hong Kong holding an estimated 14,000 people, but it is not believed that such a sophisticated schooling system was established elsewhere.

In spite of the many hardships, educational standards were kept so high that qualifications taken in the camp were later recognised by the Cambridge exam board when the exam scripts were taken to England after the war.

Christopher John Huckstep shares his memories with Josephine McDermott.

(Photo: Christopher John Huckstep and other children at Lunghwa Civilian Assembly Centre, Shanghai, in 1945. Credit: Oscar Seepol. Image courtesy of Susannah Stapleton and Special Collections, University of Bristol Library)

Avsnitt(2000)

World War Two’s Shetland Bus

World War Two’s Shetland Bus

During World War Two, whilst Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, a group of Norwegian sailors set up a base on the Shetland Islands and began aiding their country’s resistance. Named “The Shetland B...

16 Feb 10min

The flooding of Florence

The flooding of Florence

In November, 1966, Florence suffered one of the worst floods in its history after heavy rainfall caused the River Arno to burst.The Italian city was submerged under tons of mud, rubble and sewage, lea...

13 Feb 10min

The Mont Blanc Tunnel

The Mont Blanc Tunnel

In July 1965, a 12km tunnel dug deep beneath the Alps was opened to traffic, making it the longest vehicular tunnel in the world. Linking France and Italy, the Mont Blanc Tunnel was a remarkable feat ...

12 Feb 9min

Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro

Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro

Gina Lollobrigida was one of the biggest stars of European cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. Often described as "the most beautiful woman in the world", her films included Beat the Devil, the Hunchback o...

11 Feb 10min

When Pink Floyd played in Venice

When Pink Floyd played in Venice

In July 1989, Pink Floyd played a free concert to 200,000 people in Venice, Italy. The British rock band took to a stage made of floating barges as crowds of fans watched from boats, gondolas and roof...

10 Feb 10min

The discovery of nerve growth factor

The discovery of nerve growth factor

During World War Two, Italian scientist Dr Rita Levi-Montalcini was forced to do experiments in her bedroom after being banned from universities because she was Jewish. Her experiments in that bedro...

9 Feb 10min

My dad created Mr Men and Little Miss

My dad created Mr Men and Little Miss

In 1971, advertising writer Roger Hargreaves's eight-year-old son Adam asked him an unusual question: 'What does a tickle look like?'Inspired, Roger got out his marker pens and created an orange chara...

6 Feb 10min

Austria's wine scandal

Austria's wine scandal

In 1985, government scientists discovered anti-freeze in bottles of fine Austrian wine. No one died or fell ill from drinking the poisoned wine, but the scandal nearly destroyed the country's wine-mak...

5 Feb 10min

Populärt inom Samhälle & Kultur

podme-dokumentar
en-mork-historia
gynning-berg
p3-dokumentar
svenska-fall
mardromsgasten
killradet
rattsfallen
creepypodden-med-jack-werner
skaringer-nessvold
aftonbladet-krim
spar
flashback-forever
aterforeningen-en-podcast-med-thorsten-och-richard-flinck-av-sigge-eklund
hor-har
historiska-brott
larm-vi-minns
rss-sanning-konsekvens
kod-katastrof
rss-vad-fan-hande